Needing some pitching help after ace Yu Darvish landed on the injured list, the San Diego Padres decided to take a chance on veteran Jake Arrieta. The 35-year-old right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Padres and has been placed on the team’s taxi squad.
Arrieta started the season with the Chicago Cubs but ended up being released after some glaring struggles at the mound. In the 20 games he started, Arrieta posted an abysmal 6.88 ERA with a 5-11 record.
Despite this, the Padres believe Arrieta’s experience could help them in their time of need.
“We need quality innings, we need pitches, we need an opportunity to win games,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “With all of his experience, everything he’s done, we need some quality innings these last seven weeks, and we think he can be part of that solution.”
Jake Arrieta played his best baseball during his first stint with the Chicago Cubs between 2013 and 2017. During that time, he helped the Cubs during the World Series while earning the NL Cy Young Award and his only All-Star nod to date. Arrieta, who has a 115–89 career record with 3.89 ERA and 1,421 strikeouts, also played with the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.
Besides losing Darvish, who is dealing with lower back tightness, San Diego is also without starting pitcher Chris Paddack for the time being. Paddack was sent to the IL with an oblique strain in late July, and it is unclear when he could return.
These injuries came at a bad time for the Padres as the team is barely hanging to the last NL wild card spot. They are currently third in the NL West with a 67-54 record and have one and a half-game more than their closest rivals, the Cincinnati Reds.
